Steep tariffs on steel and aluminum

Reuters
Saturday, March 03, 2018

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump announced on Thursday he would impose hefty tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to protect US producers, risking retaliation from major trade partners like China, Europe and neighbouring Canada as well as helping to trigger a large selloff on Wall Street.

Mr Trump said the duties of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminum would be formally announced next week although White House officials later said some details still needed to be ironed out.

Mr Trump believes the tariffs will safeguard American jobs but many economists say the impact of price increases for consumers of steel and aluminum, such as the auto and oil industries, will be to destroy more jobs than they create.